打 dá / dǎ — dozen; beat; strike; break; mix up; build
孩子们在院子里打篮球。Hái zi men zài yuàn zi lǐ dǎ lán qiú.The children are playing basketball in the yard.
Common words: 打开 (dǎ kāi)、打电话 (dǎ diàn huà)、打球 (dǎ qiú)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "build"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "build", including 打 (dá / dǎ), 筑 (zhú / zhù), 搭 (dā). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "build" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 打 (dá / dǎ), 筑 (zhú / zhù), 搭 (dā) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dá, dǎ, zhú, zhù, dā — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 打 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 打 dá / dǎdozen; beat; strike; break; mix up; buildUseful words: 打开, 打电话
- 筑 zhú / zhùbuild; five-string luteUseful words: 建筑, 建筑物
- 搭 dābuild (scaffolding); take (boat; train); hang; join; matchUseful words: 搭配, 搭档
Common words for these 3 "build" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 打 (dá / dǎ) — so "build" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
打开dǎ kāito open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on打电话dǎ diàn huàto make a telephone call打球dǎ qiúto play ball; to play with a ball建筑jiàn zhùto construct; building建筑物jiàn zhù wùbuilding; structure; edifice建筑师jiàn zhù shīarchitect搭配dā pèito pair up; to match; to arrange in pairs; to add sth into a group搭档dā dàngto cooperate; partner搭乘dā chéngto ride as a passenger; to travel by (car, plane etc)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "build".
筑 zhú / zhù — build; five-string lute
工人们正在修筑一条铁路。Gōng rén men zhèng zài xiū zhù yì tiáo tiě lù.The workers are constructing a railway.
Common words: 建筑 (jiàn zhù)、建筑物 (jiàn zhù wù)、建筑师 (jiàn zhù shī)
搭 dā — build (scaffolding); take (boat; train); hang; join; match
我们一起搭乘公交车去市中心。Wǒ men yì qǐ dā chéng gōng jiāo chē qù shì zhōng xīn.We take the bus together to the city center.
Common words: 搭配 (dā pèi)、搭档 (dā dàng)、搭乘 (dā chéng)
All 3 characters
Open 打、筑、搭 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.